Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 04-749
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 691-5902 Tuesday, April 27, 2004
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AND WORK ACTIVITY OF 2003 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
Almost sixty-four percent of high school graduates from the class of
2003 were enrolled in colleges or universities in the fall, according to
data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates
was little changed over the year and remains near historically high rates.
Information on school enrollment and the work activity of high school
graduates comes from an October supplement to the Current Population Sur-
vey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly nationwide survey of about 60,000 house-
holds that obtains information on employment, unemployment, earnings, dem-
ographics, and other characteristics of the civilian noninstitutional pop-
ulation age 16 and over. Additional information about the October supple-
ment is included in the Technical Note.
Recent High School Graduates and Dropouts
Of the 2.7 million youth who graduated from high school in 2003, 1.7
million (63.9 percent) were attending college in October. Young women
continued to be more likely than young men to enter colleges or univer-
sities after high school--66.5 percent versus 61.2 percent. The enroll-
ment rate for Asian high school graduates (84.1 percent) was much higher
than for white graduates (65.0 percent). Black and Hispanic graduates
were about equally likely to be college students in the fall--58.3 and
58.6 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)
Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college, 9 out of 10 were
full-time students, of whom 40.0 percent were in the labor force. In contrast,
62.3 percent of part-time college students participated in the labor force.
Two-thirds of the 2003 high school graduates enrolled in college attended
4-year institutions. The labor force participation rate for these students
was 33.5 percent, and their unemployment rate was 16.0 percent. In contrast,
57.8 percent of the recent graduates enrolled in 2-year institutions were in
the labor force, and their unemployment rate was 6.2 percent.
The labor force participation rate was 78.3 percent among high school
graduates who did not enroll in college in the fall of 2003. The unemploy-
ment rate for this group was 26.2 percent in October 2003, up from 16.9 per-
cent a year earlier.
- 2 -
Between October 2002 and October 2003, about 460,000 young people dropped
out of high school. The labor force participation rate for dropouts (59.3
percent) was considerably lower than the participation rate for recent high
school graduates who had not enrolled in college. Among recent high school
dropouts, men were more likely than women to be participating in the labor
force (65.6 versus 52.1 percent). The unemployment rate for high school
dropouts was 30.8 percent in October 2003.
Youth Enrolled in School
In October 2003, a total of 20.1 million 16- to 24-year olds were either
enrolled in high school (9.6 million) or college (10.5 million). Among
high school students, 31.4 percent were engaged in some labor force activity
in October. The labor force participation rate for high school students hov-
ered around 40 percent throughout the 1990s, but has drifted down in recent
years. Among college students who were enrolled full time, about half partic-
ipated in the labor force. In contrast, 83.7 percent of part-time college
students participated in the labor force. (See table 2.)
Overall, the unemployment rate for high school students (16.1 percent)
was higher than for college students (6.4 percent). Unemployment rates for
black (33.2 percent) and Hispanic (22.7 percent) high school students con-
tinued to be higher than for whites (13.0 percent). Likewise, among college
students, blacks had the highest unemployment rate (12.8 percent), while
Hispanics and Asians had similar rates (6.8 and 6.6 percent, respectively).
The unemployment rate for white college students was 5.7 percent.
Out-of-School Youth
Of the 15.9 million 16- to 24-year olds not enrolled in school in
October 2003, 81.3 percent were in the labor force. Among youth not in
school, men were more likely than women to be in the labor force. The
difference was greatest among those with less than a high school diploma,
and diminished with more education. (See table 2.)
Unemployment rates for youth not in school were lower among those with
higher education levels. The unemployment rate for youth who had college
degrees was 7.2 percent for men and 6.2 percent for women. In contrast,
youth not enrolled in school with less than a high school diploma had the
highest unemployment rates--18.3 percent for men and 24.8 percent for women.
Technical Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from a supplement to the
October 2003 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about
60,000 households which provides information on the labor force, employ-
ment, and unemployment for the nation. The survey is conducted monthly
for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. Data re-
late to the school enrollment status of persons 16 to 24 years of age in
the civilian noninstitutional population in the calendar week that includes
the 12th of the month. Data reflect revised population controls for the
Current Population Survey introduced in January 2003.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed,
there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true"
population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error,
varies depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability
is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-
percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample
will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population
value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at
the 90-percent level of confidence.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error
can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of
the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the
sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct
information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and
information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings.
Concepts
The principal concepts used in connection with the school enrollment
series are described briefly below.
School enrollment. Respondents were asked whether they were currently
enrolled in a regular school, including day or night school in any type of
public, parochial, or other private school. Regular schooling is that
which may advance a person toward a high school diploma or a college,
university, or professional degree. Such schools include elementary
schools, junior or senior high schools, and colleges and universities.
Other schooling, including trade schools; on-the-job training; and courses
that do not require physical presence in school, such as correspondence
courses or other courses of independent study, is included only if the
credits granted count towards promotion in regular school.
Full-time and part-time enrollment in college. College students are
classified as attending full time if they were taking 12 hours of classes
or more (or 9 hours of graduate classes) during an average school week and
as part time if they were taking fewer hours.
High school graduation status. Persons who were not enrolled in school
at the time of the survey were asked whether they had graduated from high
school. Those who had graduated were asked when they completed their high
school education. Persons who had not graduated, that is, school dropouts,
were asked when they last attended a regular school. Those who were
enrolled in college at the time of the survey also were asked when they
graduated from high school.
Table 1. Labor force status of 2003 high school graduates and 2002-03 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old
by school enrollment, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2003
(Numbers in thousands)
Civilian labor force
Civilian Not in
Characteristic noninsti- Employed Unemployed labor
tutional Percent of force
population Total population
Total Percent of Number Rate
population
Total, 2003 high school graduates.. 2,677 1,470 54.9 1,190 44.4 280 19.1 1,208
Men.............................. 1,306 748 57.3 591 45.2 157 21.0 558
Women............................ 1,372 722 52.6 599 43.7 123 17.1 650
White............................ 2,106 1,181 56.1 1,020 48.4 161 13.6 925
Black or African American........ 333 163 49.1 80 24.1 83 50.9 170
Asian............................ 126 50 39.3 39 30.9 11 (1) 77
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity..... 314 162 51.6 135 42.9 27 16.9 152
Enrolled in college.............. 1,711 713 41.7 631 36.9 82 11.5 998
Enrolled in 2-year college..... 574 332 57.8 311 54.2 21 6.2 243
Enrolled in 4-year college..... 1,137 381 33.5 320 28.1 61 16.0 756
Full-time students............. 1,580 631 40.0 559 35.4 72 11.4 949
Part-time students............. 131 81 62.3 72 54.9 10 11.9 49
Men............................ 799 339 42.5 294 36.8 45 13.4 459
Women.......................... 913 374 41.0 338 37.0 36 9.7 539
White.......................... 1,368 586 42.8 525 38.4 60 10.3 782
Black or African American...... 194 55 28.3 42 21.7 13 (1) 139
Asian.......................... 106 45 42.6 38 35.8 7 (1) 61
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity... 184 67 36.4 60 32.5 7 10.9 117
Not enrolled in college.......... 966 757 78.3 558 57.8 198 26.2 209
Men............................ 507 409 80.6 297 58.6 111 27.3 98
Women.......................... 459 348 75.8 261 56.9 87 25.0 111
White.......................... 738 595 80.6 494 66.9 101 16.9 143
Black or African American...... 139 108 78.1 38 27.5 70 64.8 30
Asian.......................... 20 5 (1) 1 (1) 3 (1) 16
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity... 130 95 73.1 75 57.7 20 21.1 35
Total, 2002-03 high school
dropouts(2)..................... 457 271 59.3 187 41.0 84 30.8 186
Men.............................. 242 159 65.6 106 43.9 53 33.2 83
Women............................ 215 112 52.1 81 37.8 31 27.6 103
White............................ 336 215 63.9 157 46.6 58 27.1 121
Black or African American........ 88 42 47.8 24 26.8 19 (1) 46
Asian............................ 11 - - - - - - 11
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity..... 124 68 54.5 51 40.7 17 (1) 57
1 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
2 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2002 and October 2003.
NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals
because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or
Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Because of rounding,
sums of individual items may not equal totals. Dash represents or rounds to zero. Data reflect revised
population controls for the Current Population Survey introduced in January 2003.
Table 2. Labor force status of persons 16 to 24 years old by school enrollment, educational attainment, sex,
race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, October 2003
(Numbers in thousands)
Civilian labor force
Civilian Not in
Characteristic noninsti- Employed Unemployed labor
tutional Percent of force
population Total population
Total Percent of Number Rate
population
Total, 16 to 24 years.......... 36,017 21,858 60.7 19,304 53.6 2,555 11.7 14,159
Enrolled in school................. 20,114 8,932 44.4 8,069 40.1 863 9.7 11,182
Enrolled in high school(1)....... 9,610 3,019 31.4 2,531 26.3 487 16.1 6,592
Men............................ 5,031 1,562 31.0 1,310 26.0 252 16.1 3,469
Women.......................... 4,579 1,457 31.8 1,221 26.7 235 16.2 3,122
White.......................... 7,333 2,510 34.2 2,185 29.8 326 13.0 4,823
Black or African American...... 1,582 351 22.2 234 14.8 116 33.2 1,232
Asian.......................... 339 55 16.1 39 11.4 16 (2) 284
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity... 1,538 340 22.1 263 17.1 77 22.7 1,198
Enrolled in college.............. 10,503 5,914 56.3 5,538 52.7 376 6.4 4,590
Enrolled in 2-year college..... 2,817 1,876 66.6 1,743 61.9 133 7.1 941
Enrolled in 4-year college..... 7,686 4,038 52.5 3,795 49.4 243 6.0 3,649
Full-time students............. 8,809 4,496 51.0 4,198 47.7 298 6.6 4,313
Part-time students............. 1,695 1,418 83.7 1,339 79.0 79 5.5 277
Men............................ 4,751 2,649 55.8 2,467 51.9 182 6.9 2,102
Women.......................... 5,752 3,265 56.8 3,071 53.4 194 5.9 2,487
White.......................... 8,239 4,798 58.2 4,527 54.9 271 5.7 3,441
Black or African American...... 1,253 600 47.9 524 41.8 77 12.8 653
Asian.......................... 709 310 43.8 290 40.9 21 6.6 399
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity... 1,124 651 57.9 607 54.0 44 6.8 473
Not enrolled in school............. 15,903 12,926 81.3 11,235 70.6 1,691 13.1 2,977
16 to 19 years................... 3,112 2,264 72.7 1,761 56.6 503 22.2 849
20 to 24 years................... 12,791 10,663 83.4 9,474 74.1 1,189 11.1 2,129
Men.............................. 8,317 7,266 87.4 6,313 75.9 953 13.1 1,051
Less than a high school diploma 2,045 1,620 79.2 1,324 64.7 296 18.3 425
High school graduates, no
college (3)................... 3,852 3,396 88.2 2,938 76.3 458 13.5 456
Some college or associate
degree........................ 1,638 1,520 92.8 1,374 83.9 146 9.6 118
Bachelor's degree and higher... 782 730 93.3 677 86.6 53 7.2 52
Women............................ 7,587 5,660 74.6 4,922 64.9 738 13.0 1,926
Less than a high school diploma 1,506 765 50.8 575 38.2 190 24.8 742
High school graduates, no
college (3)................... 3,281 2,435 74.2 2,074 63.2 361 14.8 846
Some college or associate
degree........................ 1,753 1,503 85.8 1,375 78.5 128 8.5 249
Bachelor's degree and higher... 1,046 957 91.5 898 85.8 59 6.2 89
White............................ 12,570 10,449 83.1 9,350 74.4 1,100 10.5 2,120
Black or African American........ 2,345 1,742 74.3 1,288 54.9 454 26.1 603
Asian............................ 400 311 77.6 255 63.8 55 17.8 90
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity..... 3,440 2,648 77.0 2,323 67.5 325 12.3 792
1 Includes a small number of persons enrolled in grades below high school.
2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
3 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
NOTE: Detail for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals
because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or
Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Because of rounding,
sums of individual items may not equal totals. Data reflect revised population controls for the Current
Population Survey introduced in January 2003.